14.13.3 Identifying the File Format in Use

If you enable a different file
format using the
innodb_file_format configuration
option, the change only applies to newly created tables. Also,
when you create a new table, the tablespace containing the table
is tagged with the “earliest” or
“simplest” file format that is required to support
the table's features. For example, if you enable the
Barracuda file format, and create a new table
that does not use the Dynamic or Compressed row format, the new
tablespace that contains the table is tagged as using the
Antelope file format .

It is easy to identify the file format used by a given table. The
table uses the Antelope file format if the row
format reported by SHOW TABLE STATUS is either
Compact or Redundant. The
table uses the Barracuda file format if the row
format reported by SHOW TABLE STATUS is either
Compressed or Dynamic.